As I Lay Dying
by LaurenVera
Summary: What I think will happen in the episode, "As I Lay Dying" according to the previous events and spoilers I've found. Will be extended to become a prediction of season three also. Rated T for mild violence and language.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm DYING for the next episode, the extended promo was very Delena filled. I certainly hope they find a cure, though. I mean Vampire Diaries without Damon? Well, they've lost over half the population of viewers, but no big right? Anyways, this is what I think will happen based on previous events, and spoilers. **

**If any of you would like to watch the extended promo, here's the link: ****http:/www (DOT) youtube (DOT****) com/watch?v=wDMa6yISpdo**

**Just replace the (DOT)'s with actual periods. **

**Enjoy! (;**

**XxX**

Caroline walked to the Grill with unease, however she fumbled to mask herself with her confident façade, one she hoped Matt wouldn't see through. As she approached the entrance, she took a deep breath before stepping inside.

It appeared to be a very busy day for The Mystic Grill. The seats were filled, it was quite noisy, and waiters were hurrying and scrambling to serve everyone. When her gaze finally landed on the waiter she desperately needed to see, she had to suppress a wry smile, though a sad one at that.

Matt was taking a couple's orders, asking them what they would like to drink. As he finished up, she moved towards his direction, hoping that he'd somehow he'd sit down and chat with her, even that would satisfy Caroline on this particular day.

Though, when she brushed passed him, sending him a warm and welcoming smile, greeting, "Hey Matt," he didn't even take the time to look at her.

Instead, he shot her a very slight nod without meeting her eyes. "Caroline," he replied in a mockingly emotionless tone.

Her smile immediately faded, and she couldn't bring herself to pester him any longer.

**XxX**

Elena sat uncomfortably in Sheriff Forbe's office, fidgeting with her vervain necklace. She was dressed semi-formally, as was Jeremy, who was lounging in the chair adjacent to hers. For some reason, he didn't seem to be as nervous as Elena was, he was relaxed and at ease, shooting Elena a encouraging smile.

She sighed, tapping her right high-heel on the floor impatiently as she waited for the Sheriff to actually join them.

They were only here of course, because of Aunt Jenna's "disappearance." That was their brilliant plan, to pretend they had no idea what had happened and let everyone assume what they automatically would. That Jenna was missing.

The only thing that was left undecided, is where they would be permanently living from now on, and even more importantly, who with. Elena had not turned eighteen yet and it was therefore not acceptable for her to be living without a guardian, and for her to take care of Jeremy.

When the door finally creaked open and Sheriff Forbes advanced in, her bulky boots thumping loudly, Elena immediately sat up straighter and turned all attention towards her.

Liz took her seat behind her cluttered desk and folded her hands on top of a stack of papers, sending them a pitiful smile. Elena couldn't help but feel guilty about how much they _did_ _not_ deserve any pity. "Now,' she began. "I understand that your Aunt Jenna has went missing. I am terribly sorry for the both of you. We would really appreciate it here if you'd share any information about your Aunt's disappearance that you could happen to have."

Elena was not the best liar, or perhaps she just felt too incredibly ashamed to respond, but in either case, she left the talking to Jeremy. "We don't really have any idea about what happened yesterday. She didn't seem any different than usual, I just don't understand…" he offered to her, hoping that she'd be satisfied with his response and would move on.

Liz nodded. "So do you have anywhere you can stay?" She asked. "Only for awhile, until we can figure out if we need to find you another legal guardian," she explained.

Elena knew for a fact that they would probably be staying at the boarding-house. After all, it was in her name now. "Of course," Elena assured.

"That's great. I'm really glad you met with me today."

**XxX**

Damon trudged downstairs, his arm hurting like hell. He groaned softly, but didn't see the need to pull up his sleeve and check on it. He already knew that _he_ was the one destined to die now, and he didn't feel like a reminder this "fine" morning.

He continued into the kitchen, only to find Stefan. Big shocker there.

Stefan blocked his escape and confronted him. "She will find out eventually you know."

"Thanks for the update captain obvious, now get out of my way," Damon replied sarcastically, stepping to the side attempting to ditch Saint Stefan.

Stefan was fast today however, and moved swiftly to block him once again. "Don't you think it would be better for her if she had time to deal with it, instead of just waking up one day to find that your gone?" He questioned. "You should tell her."

"Don't you think it would be better for _me_ if I didn't?" Damon retorted, finally managing to pass Stefan. He proceeded to get himself a glass of blood. Today of all days, he _really_ needed it.

When Damon turned from the counter he was extremely pissed to find that Stefan had followed him, clearly not understanding that their conversation was done, over, _finished._

"So suddenly you'd pick yourself over Elena? Since when? I thought you _loved _her," Stefan mocked.

Damon was not in the mood to respond, so in fact, he didn't. He just slipped past Stefan into the Living Room.

**A/N: This is probably not going to be a long story. Where I feel the episode will end, this will also. I promise that this will be finished before the next episode airs. It'll probably only end up being around two or three chapters in total. **

**PLEASE REVIEW! It's always appreciate, in fact, it's ENCOURAGED. (;**


	2. Chapter 2

Elena arrived at the boarding house shortly after her little meeting with Sheriff Forbes, dragging along her overnight bag with her. She'd already been living here, but she'd thought it'd be a good idea to pack a little heavier. She dropped them wherever, reminding herself to put them away later.

Jeremy would be getting here soon as well. Right now, this was probably the safest place to be, regarding supernatural issues, anyways, so he'd chosen to tag along with Elena.

Before Jeremy arrived, Elena wanted to pack in some alone time Stefan, so she climbed up the stairs and turned into his room. However, Stefan was not alone.

"For the last time, Stefan, I'm _not_ going to tell Elena about-" His eyes bulged and he gasped in shock when he noticed her standing in the doorway, hand on hip, brown eyes judging and her gaze questioning.

"Not going to tell Elena _what?_" She inquired, cocking her head to the side.

Damon opened his mouth but couldn't find any words. He looked at her longingly, hoping for some kind of understanding. She'd said it herself, they'd had an understanding. After all they'd been through, he hoped it still stood. It was one of many things he remembered about her, _hell, _he remembered _everything_ about her. No question about it.

For once in his life, Damon Salvatore was speechless. Elena was impressed with herself for being the cause of this. He was always such a witty bastard, and now, she had stunned him speechless.

It also worried her though, if he was so determined to keep whatever this was away from her, it had to be something big. After everything, she didn't really know what "big" meant to her anymore.

Finally, Stefan spoke up for Damon, hoping that technically, he wasn't breaking his promise to Damon. "Damon's dying."

"What?" Elena screeched, biting her lip to keep herself from bursting into tears.

Damon had found his voice again. "Lockwood bit me," he stated, rolling up his sleeve for evidence. Elena's eyes widened in shock.

"No, you can't be," she whispered mostly to herself, running a hand through her hair in exasperation.

She eagerly glanced up at Stefan for some kind of help, but he only nodded sadly. "It's true, Elena."

"Oh my god," she breathed, pacing into the room and sitting herself down on Stefan's bed. "What are we going to do?" She suddenly blurted, feeling silly as soon as the words were out.

"A werewolf bite is _fatal_, Elena. There's nothing to be done, don't you understand?" Damon questioned.

"I do but…"

"But what?"

"I can't lose you, Damon," she said quietly, her eyelashes fluttering down in embarrassment.


	3. Chapter 3

Tyler made his way into the Grill, scanning the room for Matt. He didn't like how Matt was treating Caroline, she deserved much better. Not like… from him or anything… but still, better.

It wasn't like any of this shit was _her _fault. She was sent to the hospital for internal bleeding, and her best friend made her boyfriend's brother give her blood so she'd be okay. Then her best friend's psycho bitch doppelganger killed her, therefore making her a vampire.

Yeah, it was _definitely_ all Caroline's fault.

The way he'd just put it made it seem like Caroline's "best friend", Elena was the guilty one. But the truth was, it wasn't really hers either. Tyler just liked to blame it on the fact that they lived in a really messed up town filled with vampires, originals, werewolves and witches. And that couldn't really be anyone's wrong.

When he eventually spotted Matt wiping off a booth's table, he marched right over to him, addressing, "Matt, we need to talk."

Matt spun around suddenly, a smile warming his features. "Sure man, just let me finish up."

Tyler suddenly became more aggressive. "No _man_, I'm serious." Tyler hated to turn Matt on him… _again, _but for Caroline, it was worth it. She been there for him countless times, and he felt like he needed to return the favour. Just yesterday she'd said "Not all friendships are perfect," but Tyler so desperately wanted this one to be.

"What? I'm working," Matt spat back at him, matching his tone of voice.

"I hardly think it's fair the way your treating Caroline. Give her a break, none of this is her fault."

"I understand that, but I just couldn't handle a life like that. I'm just not ready for a life like _that_, and I'll probably never be," Matt defended himself, feeling that he's explained well.

"Maybe it _is_ your life _already_," retorted Tyler, storming out of the Grill and leaving Matt to think about this himself.

**XxX**

Damon excused himself, explaining he needed blood again, and left the two "love birds" on their own. As soon as Elena could no longer hear Damon's footsteps echoing the halls, she let the tears fall freely and allowed the sobs to wrack her body.

Stefan jumped to comfort her, rubbing her back soothingly and whispering that everyone would be okay.

That was the one flaw of Stefan she despised.

She would never understand why he would lie through his teeth so openly, even if it was meant to soothe. In situations where is was completely obvious that it wasn't going to be alright, when everything wasn't okay, why would you set someone's hopes so high up to let them come crashing down again?

She would never understand indeed.

Somehow, she knew that she wouldn't let Damon see her break down. She refused to let him see her weaknesses. She needed to stay strong for everyone, for herself, for _him_.

Stefan was the only one allowed to see her in _these_ moments. His strange comforting and all. So when she heard Damon's footsteps thumping up the stairs, she wiped up her tears, rubbed her eyes and stood up, thinking, _"let the acting begin." _

**A/N: So, I've decided to update VERY frequently, each update being smaller than I would normally allow. I think this is the best way for me to get this finished in time. I hope everyone is fond of the idea.**


	4. Chapter 4

╔══╗ ╚╗╔╝╔╝ **(¯`v´¯)╚══`. ¸. YOU DAMON!**

**A/N: I just found that. Isn't it sick? I'm so sorry it took a while to update. I was really stumped for ideas. If anyone has any ideas at all, drop me a line. PM me, or leave a review. Anyways, here's chapter four!**

**XxX**

_Previously: So when she heard Damon's footsteps thumping up the stairs, she wiped up her tears, rubbed her eyes and stood up, thinking, "_let the acting begin._"_

**XxX**

Caroline arrived home from the Grill, feeling as anyone would suspect: Down. There was simply no other way to put it. Her boyfriend loathed her. Her boyfriend who she loved dearly wished her dead. Her heart was ripped in two. And with everything else going on, really, who could cope?

Caroline trudged up the stairs glumly, muttering obscenities under her breath. When she made it to her room, she found something that made her day just that much more miserable.

Her mother was standing in her room, her tear glistening eyes fixed on Caroline's most recent school picture. To Caroline, it looked like a scene from a movie where the mother has just heard the news that her daughter had been killed.

After all, maybe that really was how her Mom looked at the situation now. Caroline was one of the demons. Caroline was evil. Caroline was a murderer.

Caroline was _dead._

She sighed in exasperation, causing her mother to turn and spot her standing there in the doorway, her fists clenched and pinned to her sides.

"Caroline." Liz nodded to her, wiping away the single tear that had managed to fall.

It was like the girl in the picture was a completely different girl than the her!

Finally, Caroline began to speak her mind. "Mom, just because I'm-"

"Caroline, you've betrayed this town. You've made a mockery of it. All those attacks, on all those innocent people…" She trailed off, shaking her head slowly.

"Is that all that matters to you anymore? This town?" She questioned, tears of anger freely streaming down her cheeks now.

"Do you realize that everyday I go to work, to pay for everything you need! When the very reason I have to go to work is because of… because of… ones like you!"

"'Ones' mom? Seriously? Am I not a person to you now?" She asked with disbelief, wiping her face with her sleeve, which may sound silly, but heightened her dignity quite a bit.

"Your no longer capable of being a person anymore. You've changed. You're a killer, a hunter. You slaughter innocent people for your own selfish needs, you just don't understand…"

"No Mom, you're the one who doesn't understand. Every sentence you just said is a lie," Caroline protested.

"Actually, it's not. That's why we plan to take the vampires down. We've had enough." Liz started towards the door. Before heading out she added, "I've had enough."

**XxX**

Bonnie flipped through the ancient pages of the grimoire eagerly. Now that she could control this complete overdose of power, she felt almost obliged to become a better witch. She wanted to learn everything about every spell that was out there. However, that was a complete impossibility. So she had settled for learning the spells Emily had known.

She was about halfway through the monstrous book when her phone began to vibrate. They screen read Caroline, answer or ignore. Obviously, for this particular call, answer was the best option.

"Hello?"

"Bonnie," Caroline sobbed. "It's- It's- my mom."

"Slow down," Bonnie suggested. She could hear Caroline breathing deeply on the other end. "Okay, now what is it?" She asked.

"I can't believe I forgot to tell everyone! She knows about me, and Stefan and everyone! I trusted Matt with our secrets, but he went behind my back and told my Mom everything!" Caroline vented.

"And by everything, you mean…"

"The whole load," Caroline admitted sheepishly.

"Looks like we've found ourselves a problem," Bonnie stated. "Again."

**XxX**

Damon entered the room again holding Stefan's beeping iPhone. "Looks like you've got a text," He proclaimed, as Stefan reached to swipe it from Damon's outstretched palm.

Stefan read over the message twice, just to be sure that what he saw wasn't a hallucination.

_We've got another situation on our hands. The council knows about everything. They're planning something. Meet Caroline's house for more._

_-Bonnie_

Well wasn't this just what they needed. Stefan read the text aloud before excusing himself to the hallway, frantically dialling Bonnie's number.

She picked up on the first ring. "Hello?"

"Bonnie, it's Stefan. I just got your text. How much do they know?" He urged.

"All of it," she responded sadly. Stefan hesitated for a moment, trying to recall what 'all of it' quite meant again.

"Do you have any idea what they're planning?" He asked, puzzled over what any of them could really do to a vampire.

"All I know is that it's against the vampires. They apparently want to take them down," she explained. "Once and for all," She added, remembering their last attempt at wiping Mystic Falls clean of "the demons".

"That's not our only problem," Stefan informed her hesitantly. "Damon's dying, we don't have much time."

"What?" Bonnie yelled, exasperated with all the drastic situations they managed to get themselves into.

"Tyler bit him," He replied miserably.

"Just get up to Caroline's. We'll deal with it. We'll deal with everything," She said and the line disconnected.

Stefan sighed. This was going to be one hell of a day.

**XxX**

Jeremy zipped up his overnight bag, finally completely packing. You'd think that Elena, being a girl, would have naturally packed heavier. Though unlike Elena, Jeremy didn't practically live in the boarding house already.

He sighed. He could hardly remember what it was like to have a normal life. One where your sister wasn't always at danger, and one where your girlfriend wasn't a witch. And most of all, one where your town was crawling with vampires.

He didn't mind Stefan and Damon much. It wasn't like they caused any harm. In fact, they actually saved us countless times. It was those evil bastards like the originals who he despised.

He carried his bag downstairs, and opened the door. Surprisingly, he found Bonnie at his porch, just about to ring the doorbell. (It was a good surprise, for once.)

They both laughed, breaking some kind of tension they didn't know was ever there. Jeremy guessed it was always intense these days, what with all the commotion.

"Hey," said Jeremy, leaning in for a tender "hello" kiss.

"Hey," Bonnie repeated, slightly taken aback. "You busy?" she asked suddenly.

"Nope."

Bonnie laughed nervously. "Good. we have a little bit of a situation…" Bonnie explained sheepishly.

**XxX**

Elena lounged on Damon's bed, failing horribly when attempting to suppress a soft giggle at Damon's humorous remarks. Damon was slightly taken aback by her approval of his words, raising his eyebrow with surprise. His whole face lit up as he smiled, for once a real genuine smile that he couldn't hold back or cover up with a smirk this time.

Elena had always found Damon funny, she had just never felt that his jokes, full of what Stefan had entitled "Damon humour", were appropriate to praise. Nobody else around her seemed to find it quite as amusing as Elena did, so she didn't show it. Some of the things he said, they were just so _true_ not to find entertaining.

He seemed to see the world differently than everybody else. Caroline was vampire Barbie, Stefan was Saint Stefan…

Now that he was going to be out of her reach, forever, she felt like showing some kind of respect to the guy, when all he knew was a world of hate.

And when she looked up at him, giving him warm smile, one that made her big beautiful brown eyes soften and shimmer, his dying heart had melted.

Both heads whipped around as the door creaked open and revealing Stefan. "I'm just going to drop by Caroline's for a minute," He reported, stopping his heart from faltering in jealously at the ease Damon set Elena into, even as he was surrounded by gloomy spirits and doom.

"'kay," Elena replied, getting up to give Stefan a quick kiss.

"You can handle being here with Damon if anything happens…"

"He can here you, you know," Damon reminded them, causing both Stefan and Elena to turn to face him. "I'm fine," Damon assured.

Stefan shrugged. "Whatever you say."

**A/N: I should have this done by Thurday, what do you guys think? I hope so, anyways. That was a longer chapter, I think. So much for frequent and short. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: My prediction has been proven wrong. ): I found on a website that Tyler and Matt and not seen in the episode. That kind of spoiled my day. Now I guess I'm left rooting for the rest of my plot to be accurate. **

**Btw, in the last chapter, in my first author's note, I had this jumbled mess up top. Well, let's just say it was a lot cooler-looking on the original document saved on my computer.**

**I've read all of the replies (reviews) I've gotten about whether or not you'd read this after tonight's episode, and I have to say I was definitely not disappointed with the response. Thanks everyone!**

**Here's the real chapter five! Happy Reading! (And hopefully some reviewing….)**

**XxX**

After Stefan had left, Elena had remained relaxing with Damon in his room. She had been forced to come face to face with the facts; Damon wouldn't be here forever anymore. It was these simple and normal moments that she wished to treasure. Not the rocky bumps they'd experienced in their relationships, not the times when they had strived to remain friends. And she certainly did not want to _ever_ remember him by his painful final breaths, when he was hallucinating and sick as could be. She wanted to focus on all the positive parts of their time together.

This was not her main goal, however. Right now she was praying that Bonnie would come up with some sort of miraculous cure, some bizarre spell that would save the day.

"I'm going to get my phone," She announced suddenly, heading into the hallway and then down the stairs, where her bags still lay untouched. It zipped open with ease, and she rooted through it, until after a while, discontentment spilled over her features.

It wasn't there. She puzzled over this for a minute, maybe she had taken it out earlier…? Though, she didn't remember ever doing such a thing. Then it occurred to her that she had left it on her messy dresser, charging.

So of course, at that exact moment she longed to have in right here with her. She proceeded to dash upstairs, telling Damon where she was off to.

**XxX**

When Stefan arrived at Caroline's the whole "gang" had beaten him there. They were all sitting around in the living room, and from what Stefan could pick out from each separate conversation, was that they weren't really planning anything in particular. They weren't even discussing anything problem related whatsoever.

When the all spotted Stefan, they immediately became curious, and worried over Damon, as they naturally should.

"How is he?" Caroline asked, knowing she didn't even need to give a name.

"He's… okay. The effects of the bite haven't really kicked in yet, I suppose," Stefan responded grimly.

"How long do we have before he…" Alaric could hardly speak the words. Damon was his friend, that he had to admit, even if he didn't want to.

"I'm not sure," answered Stefan.

Everything was silent for a moment as everybody took a chance to let the new and frightening information settle. Nobody really knew what to think. _Damon dying?_ It seemed like an impossibility. Damon was the strongest member of their group. What would they do without them?

It was already beginning to get very awkward. Nobody had ever spoken about Damon in a seemingly positive way. It was always about his last victim, or about how depressed he had gotten over Katherine. They had never openly discussed the complex topic that was Damon in all his glory.

Finally, Bonnie spoke up. "So, what do you think we should deal with first? Damon, or the council's plan?"

"Why don't we each take on a different task?" Jeremy suggested.

"That would be the best idea, considering how much time we have," Bonnie approved, immediately grabbing the grimioire, and flipping it open. "I'll look for some sort of spell that can cure a werewolf bite. If there's one here, it shouldn't take too long to find. But I'm fairly sure there isn't one, at least not what Emily knew of."

"The hardest part of this all will be trying to figure out what the council has planned," Caroline said discouragingly. "We almost need somebody to gain their trust and find out."

"It might work," remarked Alaric. "Though who would be the most convincing? The one that the really could come to trust…?"

"It can't be me or Stefan," Caroline stated. "They know about what we are. And they aren't too fond of letting anyone younger in on their secrets. They don't even think that any of us are aware of what's going on."

"So that leaves me," Alaric concluded.

"I guess so," Caroline said brightly.

**XxX**

Damon's head was spinning as he reached into the freezer, digging for a bag of blood. His vision was unfocused, his senses flying out of control. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. Though most of all, all he could focus on was the dry burning ache staining his throat. The needed blood, and he needed it _now. _Not bothering to get himself a glass, he tore open the bag, and squeezed out the exotic sweet texture into his welcoming mouth.

He could feel his sharp canine teeth strongly dominating his mouth. And if he concentrated, he could tell that his face was what he liked to call, "vamping

out".

Before he knew it, the bag was empty and he was cursing silently under his breath.

The grabbed another second blood bag, which led to a third and a fourth…

Soon his was choking dryly, the contents of his previous "meal" spilling out onto the mat.

"Fuck," He panted afterwards, wiping his bloody mouth with the back of his hand.

Then it hit him like lightening; He was actually going to die.

There was no point in denying it now. The effects of the bite were finally kicking in, causing him to face the common knowledge.

He didn't have forever to live for anymore.

When your immortal, everything task at hand can simply be pushed further and further away, in an _I'll do it later,_ fashion. He didn't even give a damn as to when "later" was anymore. He had had literally all the time in the world to get things done, so why get them over with?

Now that was an impossibility.

Now that he had over a century's worth of burdens to fulfill, where would he ever start?

In fact, maybe he had known the answer all along…

**XxX**

Elena found the hidden key under the mat without difficulty, and soon the door was clicking open and she stood in the porch of her former home.

…Or was it?

It was killing her having no idea and no control over where she would be living. Whatever wacko the police or whatever assigned to take care of Jeremy and Elena simply wouldn't ever be good enough for her. The three - scratch that, _four_, even John counted - perfect caregivers for herself she had already killed off, because in the end, she was responsible for each of their deaths.

It was _her_ fault that her parents even had to drive out that night in the first place. It was _her_ fault that Jenna had been put into a life-threatening bizarre sacrifice ceremony. It was _her_ fault that John had to give his own life up to protect her from vampirism.

Everything was all her fault.

And now, standing in this empty hollow house, which may or may not ever be her home again, the silence mocked the emptiness surrounding her, and the emptiness she felt _inside._

Long faded memories were restored, times when she remained in bliss, and everything was peaceful. Small details about all those family moments they had shared together made her vision cloud with tears.

_Together._

It was possible anymore.

However, instead of surrendering the battle, she padded up the stairs, brushing the tears away, and sucking in a heavy breath when she passed Jenna's bedroom. It was exactly how she'd left it. Clothes were strung everywhere, and the closet doors were wide open, revealing the cluttered state she always left it in. Her bed was unmade, pillows lay about it, and an open book lay flat against the silky duvet cover, it's worn and wrinkled spine displayed obviously. Resting on the night table was a half empty glass of milk.

The tears were threatening to begin all over again, and she would just not let that be. _No, _she scolded herself. _You have to think positively. _So she pictured the glass as half full instead of half empty and moved along, up the hallway.

In her room, as promised, her cell phone lay awaiting her patiently, charging on her messy dresser. She unhooked it from the cord, and clicked it on. She had three missed alerts that she planned on dealing with later. Shoving it into the pockets of her blue jeans, she started towards the door, when a rush of cool wind flew past her, and Damon stood in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" She questioned disapprovingly immediately.

He sighed at her constant distaste of him ever stepping foot into her room.

"I'm dying, Elena," was his only sad response.

"Yeah, I've heard," she breathed, suddenly realizing that he could be hallucinating. "Are you okay?" She worried abruptly.

"I'm fine, besides for one little thing I need…"

"And what is that?" She asked bitterly, crossing her arms.

"I know I don't deserve your forgiveness," He stated. "But I need it," He explained desperately.

She paused over this for a second. _What for?_ She wondered secretly. However, to Damon she replied, "You already have it."

"It may seem like it, but I need to hear the words," He begged.

She sighed. "I forgive you, Damon," she finally said. "For everything," she added.

Damon breathed a deep sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"You welcome. Now let me take you home, you don't look so good."

**XxX**

"Hey guys," Jeremy called from Liz's bedroom. He had only invaded someone's privacy like this in attempt to gather any information about what the council was plotting. "Come see what I found."

Caroline as upstairs in a flash. Literally. "What is it?"

Before Jeremy could reply, Caroline had already understood. "Oh, that's just my Mom's spare gun. In case she loses her other one, the one she has right now at work."

"Yeah, but look what it's loaded with," Jeremy protested.

When he popped open the gun, Caroline's blue eyes widened in shock, and she gasped loudly. "Oh my god," She whispered. "Wooden bullets."

"At least now we know that she wasn't lying," Jeremy joked weakly.

"Do you think she would kill me?" Caroline asked, her eyes fixing on him displaying raw desperation.

"I don't know," Jeremy replied sadly. "Maybe it was just in case a vampire broke in, or something like that happened," Jeremy suggested, shrugged.

He tucked the gun back into the position he had discovered it and left the room.

Caroline didn't move for a moment. She just stood there, staring at the hidden gun. When she finally returned downstairs, gun in hand, everyone's voices were muffled by the sound of a key wiggling in the front door's lock. Her Mom, she realized suddenly.

Her head spun around, trying to spot everyone, planning on telling them to hide somewhere, for her Mom couldn't know about their secret "meeting".

Though when she turned, they had already disappeared.

When the door finally opened, and Liz entered, Caroline took a deep breath, preparing for whatever was in store.

"Oh uh, hi Caroline."

"Mom," She began firmly. "We need to talk."

"Not now, I only came home because I left my…" She stopped mid-sentence, noticing the gun gripped in Caroline's hands.

"This?" Caroline asked, tilting her head to the side, smiling mischievously.

"Yeah, that." Liz sounded almost astounded, like she was taken aback.

"Well, you'll make it back 'to work' in plenty of time," Caroline said, position the gun so that the tip rested against her chest, in the exact spot of her beating heart.

"Would you care if I was to… I don't know… die?"

Liz pondered over how to answer the difficult question that had been presented for a moment, before snatching the gun out of her daughter's seemingly 'unbreakable' grip. "You're a murderer now," was all she said before stepping back outside and slamming the door in Caroline's face.

**XxX**

**So what'd you think of this chapter? I think I left a few minor cliff-hangers actually, even if they're only little. I'll update fast I promise! Probably again before tonight's episode, although it will not be the end of this fanfiction. I plan to keep going with this, even after I've written **_**all **_**of next episode. And just because I know how much we will all miss the Vampire Diaries after it's gone for a while, I'll probably keep going with what I think will happen in Season Three. ;) **


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